Tag: geography

What this book is about

A sneaky swan makes off with the queen’s handbag and she chases the bird throughout familiar British landmarks. Will the Queen ever get her bag back?

What I like about this book

VOCABULARY

The pictures are simple pencil drawings but have a lot of action that drives the story on the page. Outside of the text, a child will learn a lot of new vocabulary words from the pictures alone. Carriage, Bobbies, Convertible, Parachute and so much more. In addition, young listeners will learn about important British landmarks and geography through the text on the page. In addition, there is a glossary in the back with each of the landmarks and a brief description of what they are. The synonyms the author uses to mix up the word chase will also lead the listener to learning new words. This book is rich with vocabulary proving even simple stories provide rich ground for learning.

NARRATIVE SKILLS

Another benefit of this story is the strong narrative. The story starts with the Queen losing her handbag and each page builds a sequence of events that leads to her catching the swan and getting her bag back. With each repeated reading the child will begin to guess what the next page holds, adding fun to the story while she learns. Strong sequencing helps build the important Narrative Skills young learners need to become future readers.

PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS

The way the author plays with words will also help build phonological awareness. He uses alliteration throughout the book to help children hear and break apart the smaller sounds in the words. The strong cadence of the story also reinforces the word sounds. Children also build Phonological Awareness through literary devices like alliteration.

This fun, short story is sure to provide lots of laughs along with a lot of learning.

How to use this book

This story provides not only a fun story but a unique way to experience the culture in a different country. Look for these other books at the library that explore British culture, history and geography. Find a few and read them. Talk about the different places the stories explore. Find a printable map of England here, and put each place you and your child read about on the map.

In the illustrations of the book some of the crowd is waving the Union Jack and the book is all illustrated in the colors of the flag. Checkout one of these books at the library on flags and compare the US Flag to that of England’s. Ask what is the same and what is different about the flags. Find the flag for your state and see how it compares to the US Flag. These types of questions and activities get your child thinking critically about the stories she reads and how they relate to other information she has heard or read.

There are a lot of words in the book your child may not be familiar with.Repetition is the best way for children to learn new words. Print off the pdf below and cut the words into cards. Have your child act out each of the words on the card to help him cement the meaning of the word. Have fun and decorate the cards with the action as well. Make it a charades game as your child becomes more familiar with the words.

Make a passport of your child by taking his picture gluing it to a book made out of folded over paper. For each country book you read, stamp the book, just like you would if you traveled into a new country. See how many different countries you can travel with your child this summer!

What to read next

Even young readers can participate with board books! Try out this fun series called Tiny Travelers.

A is for Africa. Michael I Samulak and Illustrated by Sswaga Sendiba. Trafford Publishing: Victoria, 2008.

Preschool

A is for Africa is an alphabet book with the peoples and animals and traditions that center around Uganda. The pictures are bright and beautiful artwork that will take you on a journey through the country of Uganda and help explore the continent of Africa.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS BOOK

The most striking aspect of this book is the rich vocabulary. The author is familiar with Uganda, the animals and plants and people. This knowledge helps him introduce another land to our earliest readers. Some of my favorite words in the book are fowl, Ibis, Kob, Pygmy chimpanzee and tilapia. These are animals that are kids don’t often see, even in the zoo. It expands their world, imagination and, of course, vocabulary.

The author also uses rhythmic language and alliteration to reinforce phonological awareness, the important building block for sounding out words.

It may seem a stretch in an alphabet book, but the author’s use of a land and a people helps tell not just a story of the alphabet journey, but the life of a people who live far away. He brings in ritual life and traditions that help kids explore a world they do not hear about. These types of books and book experiences open up creativity to our youngest readers and enrich the stories they tell.

The pictures are bold, boisterous and beautiful. The illustrator is an artist in Uganda, who uses a particular style of painting called batik. There is more information about this process in the back of the book, but his illustrations invite the reader onto the page and the reading becomes an interactive experience instead of a passive one. Interesting and unique pictures that support the text on the page produce a love of reading called, Print Motivation. The more our kids love a book, the more they develop a love for reading.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

This book is a great start to study different forms of art. Create your own “batik” style paintings or drawings while talking about what your child sees in her every day life. The book is an exploration of Africa, so explore the city or state you live in with the animals you see around you, the traditions or food you eat in your region. This is a great way to build hand strength, through picture drawing, and a great way to introduce new vocabulary. It also helps her learn about the place she lives in which will help with cultural awareness.

Since this is an alphabet book, I would be remiss if I ignored the different alphabet activities out there. Pinterest is a great place to find cute and interactive ways to learn the alphabet. You don’t have to be super creative though, some of my favorite alphabet building fun is taking rice or oatmeal or sand and filling a cookie sheet. Trace the alphabet and have your child mimic. Imprinting the shapes and movement of the alphabet will bring the letters to life.

What to Read Next

(I am an Amazon Affiliate. I do not get paid to review books. The opinions are mine. However, if you click on the pictures it will take you to Amazon, where if you make purchases I will receive a percentage of the sale.)